Volume 27 • No 03 • 2004
ISSN 0742-468X • Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
Out of the Box
Editor's note: In “Out of the Box” we bring you news snippets that are not necessarily related specifically to GIS. These are items that come across my screen that help me understand our industry, by understanding the world around us. For the complete article just click “Details Here.” Think of it as thinking Out of the Box
In State and Local Government …
• Shellfish Sanitation (Morehead City, FL) has been working with other environmental agencies for two years to upgrade the shellfish closure maps with Geographic Information Systems technology. “Hopefully by late fall we'll be able to start using this system,” said Patti Fowler, assistant section chief with Shellfish Sanitation. Details Here
• Michael Blake, director of Geographic Information Systems mapping from Tighe and Bond, outlined how difficult it will be to redistrict all the city's students for the Holyoke (MA) School District. “About 74 percent of the students will have to move to different schools,”he said. If done gradually by assigning kindergarten students to the school in their district every year, it will take 10 years to implement the change, Blake said. Details Here
• Summit County (CO) government will pay $50,000 this year to update its aerial photos used to help planners and decision makers considering development applications. The funds will cover the cost of photography, survey work and delivery of images required to update the county's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database.
Details Here
In Technology …
• Matrox Graphics showcased products from its family of professional graphics cards for CAD and GIS at Bentley Systems’ 2004 BE Conference. These products include the Millennium P650, running Bentley MicroStation V8 2004 in DualHead, and the Parhelia™ 128MB, powering systems running other certified applications such as Bentley Enterprise Navigator and ESRI ArcInfo™ across three displays. Details Here.
• At TechEd, Microsoft Corp. sketched out some of its future intentions in the identity management space, including federation services that likely will include Web single sign on. Some resellers say the timing couldn’t be much better for these sorts of features to emerge for Windows. Others, though, contend that Microsoft should plug up existing security holes before venturing off into yet another new technology realm.
Details Here
•AT&T Wireless begins selling fast data formobile devices. AT&T Wireless Services Inc introduced a fast data service in four U.S. markets that lets customers look at the Internet, e-mails or video clips on mobile phones and laptop computers. Details Here
In Utilities …
• Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s push to give more large power users freedom to shop for the best electricity deal faces opposition from Democrats and consumer advocates who fear it will lead to higher residential bills. Currently, large customers who must buy electricity through a utility company, claimed Dorothy Rothrock, vice president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. “We think there is a lot of innovation and creativity in the market that will be exposed once it's opened up.” Ms Rothrock neglects to mention that regulated utilities cannot cherry pick their customers and must provide service to eveyone. Details Here
• An undiscovered natural gas reservoir was found near Sacramento, CA, by Fidelis Energy, Inc. Engineers calculated the first well to be able to provide over 12 million cubic feet per day. By some estimates, that is enough natural gas when supplied to a power plant to provide electricity to more than 125,000 homes daily. California is a net importer of natural gas and cannot produce enough gas to meet daily demand. This discovery could result in the state becoming more self-sufficient, Fidelis
says. Details Here.
• The U.S. Department of Energy reasserted a plan to ship
waste from nuclear plants nationwide to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in
eastern Washington – though the agency reduced the maximum amount it plans to ship. The agency said that by 2035 it will ship as much as 82,000 cubic
meters of waste from its other nuclear facilities to be treated and stored
at Hanford.
Details Here.
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